All of California · Bill credit
California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) bill discount
Run by California Public Utilities Commission (offered by each utility)
CARE gives income-qualified customers of California's investor-owned utilities a 30% to 35% discount on electric bills and 20% on natural gas bills, plus a lower monthly Base Services Charge. Households qualify with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines or by enrolling in programs like Medi-Cal, CalFresh/SNAP, WIC or LIHEAP; apply through your utility.
Amounts
How much you get
Large electric utilities (100,000+ accounts: PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) give a 30% to 35% discount on the electric bill; smaller electric utilities give 20%. The amount depends on which of these fits your install.
| What you install | You get |
|---|---|
| 000+ accounts)Electric bill discount (utilities with 100 | 35% |
| Natural gas bill discount | 20% |
| Electric bill discount (smaller utilities) | 20% |
Eligibility
Do I qualify?
You need to meet all 4 of these.
Residential customer of a CPUC-regulated utility that offers CARE: PG&E, Southern California Edison, SDG&E, SoCalGas, Bear Valley Electric, Liberty Utilities or West Coast Gas (Alpine Natural Gas, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas run their own assistance programs). Customers of a community choice aggregator are still customers of their investor-owned utility.
Household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Limits effective June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027: $43,280 for 1 to 2 people, $54,640 for 3, $66,000 for 4, $77,360 for 5, $88,720 for 6, $100,080 for 7, $111,440 for 8, plus $11,360 for each additional person.
People in your home Income at or below 1 $43,280 2 $43,280 3 $54,640 4 $66,000 5 $77,360 6 $88,720 7 $100,080 8 $111,440 Add $11,360 for each extra person.
Or enrolled in Medicaid/Medi-Cal, WIC, Healthy Families A & B, National School Lunch Program free lunch, CalFresh/SNAP, LIHEAP, Head Start (tribal only), SSI, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, or TANF/Tribal TANF.
Homeowners and renters with their own utility account.
Equipment
What equipment counts
Applying
How to apply
Apply any time through your utility.
- Check eligibility.
Compare household income with the CARE table, or check whether anyone in the household is enrolled in a qualifying program.
- Apply through your utility.
Contact your utility or visit its website for the CARE application (PG&E 866-743-2273, Edison 866-675-6623, SDG&E 800-411-7343, SoCalGas 800-427-2200). Community agencies also have forms.
- Discount on your bill.
Once approved, the discount and reduced Base Services Charge appear on your bill.
Forms and instructionsCPUC: Financial Assistance, Savings, and Discounts
Stacking
Use it with
Your address
Next steps
Check that it covers your address. Then, if you want, ask for a contractor quote.
Is it available at your address?
Before anything else
Your quote request is in If a contractor we work with serves your ZIP, they can contact you. We take one request per person; contact us to change it.
Get an email if this program changes
We'll write if its amount, status or deadline changes. Nothing else.
FAQ
Questions
How much does California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) bill discount pay?
Up to 35% off. Large electric utilities (100,000+ accounts: PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) give a 30% to 35% discount on the electric bill; smaller electric utilities give 20%. Gas customers get 20% off their natural gas bill. CARE customers also pay a $6 monthly Base Services Charge instead of the standard $24.15, about $18 a month in savings.
Does it matter where I live?
Yes. It’s only for homes in California. See Do I qualify for the details.
Is there an income limit?
Household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Limits effective June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027: $43,280 for 1 to 2 people, $54,640 for 3, $66,000 for 4, $77,360 for 5, $88,720 for 6, $100,080 for 7, $111,440 for 8, plus $11,360 for each additional person.
Do renters qualify?
Homeowners and renters with their own utility account.
What’s the deadline?
No fixed deadline. Apply any time while it’s open.
Is it still available?
Yes. It was open when we last checked, on October 27, 2026.
Who pays for CARE?
Other utility customers. CARE is funded through a rate surcharge paid by all other customers.
Plain words
Words used on this page
References
Sources
This page is built from these official pages, run by the program itself.
When one of these pages changes, we re-check this page against it.
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